Teens

Teens

Did you know:

  • We recently added almost 100 new young adult books to our collection? In celebration of our new shelving in Oreana, we gave a huge boost to our YA section at both branches! If you haven’t been to the library in awhile, you might want to come check it out!
  • This website keeps a list of our featured new YA books right here!
  • The library has video games? We have games for the Nintendo DS, Wii, Wii U, Playstation, PS2, PS3, PS4, XBox, XBox 360, and XBox One. And other libraries have more that you can request!
  • The library has graphic novels, comic books, and manga? We’ve been building up our collection lately, so if you’ve been wanting to try out some Batman, Batgirl, Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Avengers, or more, check out our graphic novel collections at both libraries!
  • The library has books on colleges and careers? Check out our young adult nonfiction section for books that you might be interested in! You can also check out our list of great college prep websites right here!

Goodreads

Are you a book lover? Want to see what everyone else is reading? Want to read awesome reviews of any book you can think of? Try Goodreads, a book-themed social media site. Most authors belong to it and post updates about their upcoming books, and you can make to-read lists, log the books you’ve already read, post reviews, get recommendations, and find out what your friends are reading. It’s great!

Other Cool (Free) Sites

  • Working on a big paper and need a little help? Dictionary.com is a great online dictionary and thesaurus, as is Merriam-Webster. And if you need help with citations, you should probably check out Purdue’s OWL. It covers just about everything you could ever want to cite in a paper.
  • Looking for books? Goodreads is a great site for descriptions, reviews, and recommendations. For more info on young adult books in general, articles about authors, upcoming titles, and reviews, try TeenReads.
  • Want to teach yourself a new language? Duolingo is one of the best sites out there. They also have apps. Use this site to learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, or Turkish! The lessons play like games, and you pick things up much faster than you’d think.
  • You’re probably familiar with TED talks, but you might not know about TED-Ed, which is a collection of TED talks that teach you cool things about science, history, art, math, and other things that will help you in school. But, of course, they’re still TED talks, so they’re all really interesting and entertaining. They cover a wide range of topics, so you’re bound to find something you’re interested in!
  • Want to learn some basic computer programming skills? Try Codecademy, the all-around best site for teaching yourself web-based computer languages. Good ones to start with are HTML/CSS or Python.
  • Want to become a chess master? Whether you routinely thrash your friends at the game or you don’t even know how to move the pieces, Chesscademy will teach you how to build mad chess skills. First it tests you to see how much you know, then it provides lessons, puzzles, and videos to help you where you need improvement. Plus, it’ll pit you against people of a similar skill level, so you’ll never be too overwhelmed. Check it out! (Chess puns are the best puns)
  • Are you an aspiring writer? Would you like to write a book, but don’t know where to start? Try National Novel Writing Month, or (as it’s better known) NaNoWriMo. It happens every November and is a great way to throw yourself into the writing experience. The forums are super helpful and supportive and can really get your questions answered like nothing else I’ve ever seen.
  • Who doesn’t love learning new words? If you want to beef up your vocabulary or knuckle down for the ACT, try Vocabulary.com. It turns learning new words into a game, without being as lame as that sounds. Or, for the hipsters among us (you know who you are), definitely check out The Dead Words. There, people create descriptive art from words that are no longer in common use. They, quite frankly, have a trabbocant accumulation of cool words to casually (but gaudiloquently) toss into any conversation.

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